The Ethereal Lightness of Opalescence by Mary Sholl The - Spring-Summer 25 - Colors - Première Vision Paris
Quietly luminescent, colorless and colorful, opalescence is a contradiction; an indefinable light and color source in physical form. With otherworldly boundlessness, opalescence has been a wonder revered for centuries, resurging once more as it regains new prominence for 2025.
For SS25 we look to the untethered, seeking out symbols of emancipation, fluidity, and a dynamic future with earthly grounding. Opalescence delivers these desires with both subtlety and beauty. Its quality comes from deep within, beyond the surface, a clear differentiation from its cousin, iridescence. The ability to transmute, refract, and both absorb and reflect light through its core is a phenomenon harnessed by creatives for centuries.
Derived from silica spheres in their very conception, opals carry an infinite quality. With a continuous flow of light and color, the fluidity and ambiguity of opalescence is perpetual, captivating civilizations through the ages. Ancient Greeks revered opals as talismans that bestowed the gift of prophecy, guarding their owners from disease, while Europeans have long considered opals a symbol of hope, purity, and truth. As such an indefinable and natural wonder, opals were an eye into the future and unknown, able to represent and fulfil spiritual and symbolic aspiration.
Opalescent color is not easily characterized; color is both captured and radiated simultaneously, while it moves and lives within. Opalescence is open to interpretation. Its colors are altered by a viewer’s own movements, by being viewed from different angles and under different lights. Its very presence is empowering. As a further distortion of color and light, the beguiling milky opacity of opalescence creates a misty veil through which to view. This translucent cloudiness traps the moving color into a solid object, creating a beautiful juxtaposition between static solidity and mercurial moving color.
Derived from silica spheres in their very conception, opals carry an infinite quality. With a continuous flow of light and color, the fluidity and ambiguity of opalescence is perpetual, captivating civilizations through the ages. Ancient Greeks revered opals as talismans that bestowed the gift of prophecy, guarding their owners from disease, while Europeans have long considered opals a symbol of hope, purity, and truth. As such an indefinable and natural wonder, opals were an eye into the future and unknown, able to represent and fulfil spiritual and symbolic aspiration.
Opalescent color is not easily characterized; color is both captured and radiated simultaneously, while it moves and lives within. Opalescence is open to interpretation. Its colors are altered by a viewer’s own movements, by being viewed from different angles and under different lights. Its very presence is empowering. As a further distortion of color and light, the beguiling milky opacity of opalescence creates a misty veil through which to view. This translucent cloudiness traps the moving color into a solid object, creating a beautiful juxtaposition between static solidity and mercurial moving color.
“The translucent body catches and locks in colors surrounding it until these subtle hues and its vessel become one.” [Valentina Ciuffi, Studio Vedèt]
This multi-faceted and invaluable trait of opalescence continues to intrigue and inspire creatives as it is reimagined and revived. Offering perceptual experiences through the refraction, reflection and emission of light, the contradictory nature of opalescence is best expressed in contrast where stasis and rigidity work alongside fluctuation and transcendency.
This convergence of solidity and movement has been explored in the recent work of Objects of Common Interest. Presented at the Nilafur Depot by Studio Vedèt as part of Milan Design week in April 2023, ‘Poikilos’ is an arresting series of minimal, sculptural furniture and homeware made entirely from an opalescent, glossy resin formed through an innovative fusion of liquefied resin and natural elements. The exhibition showcased its metamorphic journey from fluid to solid form. Immediately evident was that the opalescent resin was not a surface adornment, but a living life-force from within, continually shifting and transforming within the simple and functional designs. Pieces were enhanced by their interaction with the light and environment around them, adding a poetic angle to functional objects. Mixing permanence with fleeting experiences in a literal sense, the resin developed for this project can be melted down into its original liquid state and transfigured into new forms of being.
Opalescence as a re-usable or re-purposed material feels like a powerfully innovative concept for a new age. Over the course of time, opalescence has often carried a stereotype of embellishment, adornment and lavishness, a somehow unnecessary and unsustainable luxury existing purely for an instant aesthetic.
New, innovative materials are turning this perception on its head, creating ultra-modern materials that bring opalescence into a new era. Demonstrating this is Delerex, a material made entirely from discarded lenses without the use of glues or bonding agents. Created by Yair Neuman, Delerex is a response to the excessive plastic waste produced by the eyewear industry. Showcased at the Materials Matters 2023 Fair in London, this unique material’s ethereal opalescence has been fully utilized to create glasses frames, lighting and vases, playing on its translucence and opacity.
It is clear how opalescence can be a moving element within a static vessel, but an essential angle to explore is its ability to form differently through external movement. A fluid material in motion can both create and enhance opalescence. Fabric can create fluctuating motion externally, creating opalescence through its very movement. Diaphanous, sheer or glistening colors can be layered through fabric to create multiple moving effects. Combining the qualities of fabrics with opalescence opens up a vast scope of possibilities for textiles and fashion, satisfying our desire for more unexpected and unpredictable elements in what we wear.
Quiet and minimal, SS25 sees opalescence married with considered, modern and functional design for real-life. Otherworldly ambiguity becomes within reach, brought into our lives and our homes and providing escapism from the safety of our own spaces. Opalescence gives us a way to feel grounded without being trapped by the present, offering us an eye into the future at a time where the future needs to feel close.
